The Commonwealth of Australia makes up the continent of Australia, which is located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Australia, which is part of the region of Oceania, is the smallest continent on Earth.
With an area of 2,969,907 square miles (7,692,024 square kilometers), Australia is the sixth largest country in the world, after Russia, Canada, the United States of America, China and Brazil.
If Australia were considered an island, it would be the largest island in the world.
The capital of Australia is Canberra.
Australia has a parliamentary system of government.
It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The official currency of Australia is the Australian dollar, which is equal to 100 cents.
Australia lies in the middle of the Indo-Australian continental plate.
It is the world's flattest continent, and is made up of many plateaus that have eroded.
The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of northeastern Australia, is the largest region of coral reefs and coral islands in the world. It runs for 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers) off the coast of Queensland.
The coasts of Australia, particularly the east coast, are more hilly and fertile than the interior of the continent.
Sydney harbor, on the east coast, is known as one of the most beautiful harbors in the world.
Bondi Beach in Sydney attracts surfers and other tourists from all over the world.
The central eastern part of the country consists of the low land that makes up the Lake Eyre drainage basin, one of the Earth's largest inland drainage system - more than 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 square kilometers) in area.
Lake Eyre is the largest lake, as well as the lowest point, in Australia and in all of Oceania.It has an area of 3,430 square miles (8,884 square kilometers) and is 53 feet (16 meters) below sea level.
The Murray-Darling river, in southeastern Australia, is the longest river in Australia and Oceania.
The Great Dividing Range, a belt of plateaus and ridges in the east, separates the east coast from the deserts and flat, dry plains of the Australian Outback. The Great Dividing Range is a watershed between rivers that flow eastward and rivers that flow westward. Gorges and deep valleys in the Great Dividing Range have been formed by erosion. There are many waterfalls here.
The Australian Alps, in southeastern Australia, are part of the Great Dividing Range.
Australia's highest mountain is Mount Kosciuszko, in the Snowy Mountains, which are part of the Australian Alps. Mount Kosciuszko7,316 feet (2,228 meters) high.
The Musgrave and Everard ranges in southern Australia consist of bare, round hills of gneiss and granite.
Finders Range in southern Australia, is a heavily folded mountain range. It is part of an arc of sedimentary rocks that extend northward from Kangaroo Island, off the southern coast.
Southern Australia has a large limestone plateau known as the Nullarbor Plain. It is so flat that the Trans-Australian railway is able to pass through it in a straight line for over 300 miles (483 kilometers).
The eastern part of Nullarbor Plain has many sinkholes. Water that has run underground has created a large system of limestone caves underneath the plane.
The Simpson Desert in central Australia has many large salt pans that were formed when old rivers evaporated. Although most of these salt pans are covered with crystals of ordinary salt, some are covered with gypsum.
The Great Artesian Basin lies underneath almost one fifth of Australia's total area. It provides Australia with an important store of underground water.
Uluru, or Ayers Rock, in central Australia is a large rock formation that is sacred to the aborigines.
The Pinnacles in western Australia are a series of oddly shaped sandstone pillars. Wind and water erosion have given them the shapes they have today.
Tasmania is an island off the coast of southern Australia, in the east. It is a continuation of the Australian Alps. During the last Ice Age, 18,000 years ago, Tasmania was joined to the Australian mainland. At that time, sea levels were about 300 feet (100 meters) lower than they are today. Now, Bass Strait divides Tasmania from the mainland.
The center of Tasmania has a glaciated plateau with many lakes. Lake St. Clair is more than 700 feet (200 meters) deep.
There are temperate rainforests in the wettest parts of Tasmania, but levels of rainfall vary throughout the island. Some regions are drier and prone to forest fires.
Australia is the second driest continent on Earth, after Antarctica.
The interior of the country, which is cut off from the oceans, has extremely high daytime temperatures and experiences many droughts.
Huge deserts cover much of western Australia..
It is cooler and wetter along the coasts.
In the the east, there is tropical climate.
There is a tropical monsoon climate in the north.
Cape York Peninsula, in northern Queensland, has a tropical rainforest.
The southeastern and southwestern coasts have temperate climates.
Australia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world.
21,293,000 people live in Australia.
More than four fifths of the people live within 25 miles (40 kilometers) of the coast, most of them in the southeast.
92% of the population is European, 5% is Asian and 2% is aboriginal.
Until the end of the eighteenth century, the only inhabitants of Australia were aboriginal peoples.
The arrival of British colonists and settlers from other parts of western Europe completely changed the country's demographics.
In recent years, immigrant have been arriving from Asia and eastern Europe.
English is the official language of Australia. Other languages spoken include Italian, Greek, Arabic, Cantonese Vietnamese and aboriginal languages.
38% of the people are Protestant and 26% are Roman Catholic.
Australia has one of the highest life expectancies and one of the highest standards of living in the world.
Most of Australia's foreign income comes from the exportation of food and agricultural raw materials, although only five percent of the workforce is involved in agriculture.
Sheep farming and cattle ranching are important.
Important crops are sugar, wheat, corn, barley, sorghum, and fruits, including grapes for wine.
Darling Downs is a highly fertile region of southern Queensland. Many crops are grown here.
Barossa Valley, near Adelaide, is an important wine-producing region.
Tasmania has large forestry and fishing industries.
Australia is an important producer of oil, coal, natural gas, iron ore, bauxite, uranium, copper and nickel.
Some of Australia's richest mineral deposits, which include diamonds, can be found in the Kimberly Plateau in northwestern Australia.
La Trobe Valley in Victoria has the largest deposit of lignite on Earth.
Manufacturing mostly takes place in the large cities along the Australian coasts.
Australia is moving toward a service economy. The tourism industry is growing rapidly.
Australia is divided into six states, the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory.
The six states, in alphabetical order are:
The Australian Capital Territory is a federal territory located inside New South Wales. Its capital is Canberra.
The capital of Northern Territory is Darwin.
| Australia http://www.australia.com Australia tourism and travel destinations. | |
| 0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: 0 | |